Three years ago, Sean Monahan wasn’t just one of the Calgary Flames’ best players. He was one of the best in the NHL.
Updated yesterday at 11:27 p.m.
From 2014-2015 to 2018-2019, the striker finished at 24e rank of scorers on the circuit, ahead of Evgeny Kuznetsov, Aleksander Barkov and Artemi Panarin, among others. Only 12 skaters have scored more goals than him in the interval.
However, it was not the Canadian who gave up a first-round pick to acquire him on Thursday. It was the Flames who paid dearly to get rid of him.
The composition of this transaction alone betrays just how in decline Monahan’s career is. Since his 82 points in 2018-2019, his production has plummeted visibly: only 23 points, including 8 goals, in 65 games last season. Nothing, in short, that justifies the 6.375 million he pockets annually under a contract that will end in 2023.
In Calgary, this strictly offensive player has never been on the same wavelength as Darryl Sutter, head coach known for his obsession with defensive play. Last season, he returned a -15 differential, by far the worst for the Flames, one of the clubs that allowed the fewest goals in the entire league. Last March, he was scratched twice from the formation.
His last two campaigns, moreover, have ended in hip operations, major interventions that require long and painful periods of rehabilitation. Talk to Paul Byron, who missed the majority of CH games last season and is expected to be absent again next fall.
The first to be aware of the situation is obviously Monahan himself. His name has been linked to all kinds of rumors for months, so there is no doubting his honesty when he says how “excited” he is about the “new beginning” that awaits him at home. Canadian.
“I have a lot to prove,” he admitted during a virtual press briefing organized by the CH, late Thursday evening.
“I especially want to prove them to myself, he added. I know I’m a great player, but it’s been a bumpy road. All these injuries weigh heavily, mentally. »
Listening to him speak, one understands that over the past few years, even when he was supposedly “healthy,” Monahan was not at his peak.
“You learn to live with it,” he said. I should have [subir ces opérations] a long time ago, it was my choice to play regardless. »
He has now decided to “prioritize” himself. Four months after his last operation, here he is on the ice four times a week. He wants to participate in the Canadiens’ training camp “from day one”, but warns from the outset that if he feels that something is wrong, he will not rush anything. He has played enough despite the pain, and he wants to avoid regressions at all costs. This in order to demonstrate that it is not by chance that he was chosen at the 6e rank in the 2013 draft and whether he was ever considered one of the league’s most feared scorers.
“I feel like myself again,” he said. I work hard, I feel good. It’s a good feeling. »
“A very good player”
Although his press conference was overshadowed by the lackluster news concerning the state of health of Carey Price, the general manager of the Canadian, Kent Hughes, obviously seemed satisfied with his latest acquisition.
Financially, he did the Flames a favor by accepting a heavy contract. The GM still gets away with a first-round pick and with a player whose performance can only go up. At 27, Monahan still has a lot of hockey ahead of him and could find a niche in Montreal if he finds his bearings there. A good offensive harvest could also make it an interesting bargaining chip at the trade deadline.
Above all, Hughes recalls that he got his hands on “a very good hockey player”.
Although the Ontarian is identified as a center player, it’s unclear to Hughes if he’s destined for that position or on the wing. If he found himself in the center, he would join Nick Suzuki, Christian Dvorak, Kirby Dach and Jake Evans, completing a “strong” group of which he would be the dean.
“I firmly believe that to be successful, teams need to have a commanding presence at center ice,” added Hughes.
The decision on how to use it, however, will be up to head coach Martin St-Louis, he said.
In any case, the organization hopes to see the player he once was reborn. And not the one who regularly played less than 12 minutes per game last winter.